Stranger of the Past
by snarkypixie
Summary: A girl from Adam and Grace's past resurfaces in Arcadia, causing jealousy to spark within Joan. Takes place between "The Gift" and "The Silence." Title subject to change. Please read and review!


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Rating: PG-13 because that's much more cooler than G...Oh, and there may be mild cussing in it, but that's about it.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. If I did own the rights to Joan of Arcadia, would I really be wasting my time posting this on the internet instead of using it on the actual show??? Maybe. But, again, I own nothing and am just borrowing the JoA world for my own (and hopefully my readers') amusement. All I own is Sam Sully, her family, and this plot.

Author's note: This fanfic is just the result of an idea that was mulling in my head that I needed to write down before it consumed me. I got the idea for this about three-fourths into the season, but didn't start writing it until near the end. I finished this chapter about a couple months ago, but I wanted to write two chapters first before I posted anything. Unfortunately, I'm horribly stuck on the second chapter, so I figured I might as well post this before the new season takes place. This fic takes place after the episode "The Gift" but before the episode "The Silence." Not sure how much time was supposed to take between the two episodes, but I'm going to say about a week and a half, just so my story can work. Not sure where I'm going with this, but if you come up with an ideas, suggestions, or questions while you're reading this, feel free to jot them down and then send them to me in a review.

Oh, and if anyone could think of a better title for this fic, that would be fantastic!

Thanks!!

Enough with the boring notes- Sit back and enjoy the reading:

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For a Monday, the day had been tolerable for Joan Girardi thus far. By the time the bell sounded signaling the end of another torturous day at the hell that was high school, Joan had managed to survive unscathed, and without a "suggestion" from Him; Him being the proverbial monkey on her back, better known to the masses as God.

"Come, come Joan. You really don't think I'm a monkey on your back, do you?" she heard a familiar voice ask from behind her.

She stopped in her tracks and then turned around to find it was God's ever-favorite human form, the Cute Guy.

"You know, that omniscient thing? Yeah, REALLY annoying."

"Sorry, Joan, comes with the territory."

"What are you doing here? Adam can't see you here like THAT. He'll totally flip out and after the whole hotel thing last week things have been a little...off."

"Don't worry, Adam will never even know I was here."

"Fine. So what is it this week? Make it quick."

"Now, what makes you think I'm here to throw a suggestion' your way?"

"Uh, I don't know, maybe because you always do?" Joan snipped.

"Right now, there is no task. Just a word of advice."

"Really? And what, exactly, is this almighty advice?"

"Something will happen today that will make you feel like you're being replaced. Don't, because you're not."

"That's it? That's your sage advice?"

"See you later, Joan. Just remember what I said."

With that, Cute Boy God turned and started walking in the other direction.

"God, could you be more vague?" she yelled at His retreating form.

When all she got was His signature dismissal wave of the hand, she huffed in annoyance. On her way to her locker where she was meeting her friends Grace and Adam, she contemplated what God was possibly talking about. She didn't have much time to mull it over because only moments after arriving at her locker her friends strolled up to her.

"You ready to go, Girardi?" she heard the gruff voice of Grace Polk ask her from her side.

"Yep. The sooner we get away from this place, the happier I will be."

Joan closed her locker and after Adam took hold of Joan's hand, the trio started to walk down the hall. As they turned a corner, Adam unwittingly ran smack dab into someone, causing Joan and Adam to break their hold. The girl, whose balance relied on the crutches under her arms, started to wobble, losing balance, and the papers she had been squeezing between her hand and one of the crutch handles floated to the ground as she lost grip of the crutch. Luckily, Adam managed to grab hold of her before she met the same fate as the papers.

"Sorry, yo. Didn't see you there," Adam apologized as he slowly let go of her arm after making sure she had maintained balance.

"It's fine, I should have been watching where I was going," replied the girl as she slowly bent down to collect her papers from the ground.

"Here, let me get those for you," offered Joan, ever the helper, before she started to grab some of the papers from the ground.

The girl ignored Joan's obvious favor of her not having to go through the labor of bending to get the papers and instead steadied herself down to the ground to collect some herself. Adam was quick to follow Joan's lead, while Grace opted to watch. The three quickly managed to pick up the papers and were soon on their feet again...well, some sooner than others. Once the girl was upright again and had the crutches under control, she looked up for the first time, moving her sight from the papers to Adam. Her eyes went wide as she got a good look at him.

"Rover?"

Adam, Joan, and Grace all gave the girl a confused look.

"Rover?" repeated Grace. Her mind pondered the word for moment, wondering why the utterance was so familiar to her. "Nobody's called Adam that since fifth grade. And that was just..."

Grace tried to wrap her mind around it, when the girl turned to face Grace, noticing her for the first time.

"Polka?"

That's when the realization overcame Adam and Grace of who this not so stranger was.

"Sully?" both of them practically yelled at the same time.

Joan watched the next few minutes unravel from the sidelines, confused about what was going on.

"Oh my God, guys, it's been freakin' ages!" the girl Adam and Grace had called "Sully" almost squealed. "Don't just stand there with your mouths agape, give this cripple a hug."

After coming out of their momentary shock, Grace and Adam took turns giving the girl a hug.

"What the hell happened to you, Sully?" asked Grace as she pulled away from her.

"That depends, are you referring to the fact that I seemingly dropped off the face of the planet or are you asking how I ended up in my gimpish state?"

"While the second intrigues me, I'm asking why you stopped writing after a few months?"

"Because I suck. Seriously though, I'm really sorry about that. I really tried to write, but then something major occurred and my motivation for it kind of subsided. Did I mention I'm sorry and I suck?"

"You might have," smirked Grace. "Now, explain what you are doing back in Arcadia."

"It's a long story. My mom got married to this guy who lives here in Arcadia. They used to know each other in high school, and they ran into each other when they were both in Las Vegas for a mutual friend's wedding. Sparks flew, and they soon got married. After that they decided it would be easiest for my mom and I to move here to Arcadia after my school let out last week, even if that meant relocating her youngest. You know, your basic movie of the week stuff," she explained quickly, all in one breath.

"I would say that sucks, but that did bring you back to us," said Adam.

"Which is the only plus-side to the scenario."

"Wait, your mom got remarried? When did your parents get divorced?" asked Grace.

"Umm...that's an even longer story that I don't want to divulge into right now, but I'll tell you guys later."

"Okay..." replied Grace, confused by her old friend's cryptic reply. "So, when did you get into town and why the hell haven't you visited us before today?"

"I got in town late last night and have been busy trying to help get everything moved into my room today. I would have come to see you guys, but you were in school, obviously."

A silence fell over them as each of them searched for something more to say. Luckily, they had Joan there to move things along.

"Since it's obvious those two aren't going to do it for us, I guess I'll introduce myself. Joan Girardi."

"Samantha Sullivan. I know, total tongue twister. People usually call me Sam for short."

"Or Sully apparently."

"Actually, that's been a rarity."

"So, how do you know Grace and Adam?"

"Oh, we go way back. Like just out of diapers playing in the sandbox' back."

"Oh, that's...great."

"So, Polka, you still fighting the system?"

"Of course."

"And Rover, you still making that awesome art?"

"Cha."

"Still pummeling boys on the playground?" Grace asked her long-lost friend, a smirk evident on her features.

"On a good day," grinned Sam.

"It's nice to know some things never change."

"Unchallenged."

Joan's eyes widened as she heard Sam utter Adam's favorite word of agreement and watched as Sam gave a knowing smile to Adam, who returned it with one of his own shy ones. A hint of jealousy spread over her as Joan watched the interaction in front of her.

"So, what brings you to our school today?" Joan asked, curious as to why Sam was here if she was already out of school and there were only a couple of days left at Arcadia High. "A little late for a transfer, isn't it?"

"Not for next year," replied Sam. "My mom wanted me to get the paperwork before the summer started so everything would be copasetic before fall rolled around."

"Oh."

"Well, as much as I'd like to stick around longer for our wonderful, heartfelt reunion, I've really gotta blaze," Sam informed her old friends and Joan. "My mom's waiting for me in her car outside and you guys probably remember how anal my mom was about promptness."

"How could I forget?" replied Grace. "Don't make me refer to the great debacle of 97."

"I almost forgot about that," grinned Sam. "I still can't believe she left you after five minutes of waiting. I begged her not to."

"I almost rode my bike to school. And that's a five-mile ride."

"Cha, but then after two blocks Sully and I convinced her mom to come back for you," Adam added.

"Thus, chaos was averted. However, if I don't haul-ass now, there will definitely be an encore of the great debacle of '97 and that would suck because I can barely use these stupid crutches for one block let alone 50. Hey, really quick, do any of you have a pen on hand?"

"Yeah, here," said Adam, taking a pen out of his pocket.

"Okay, give me your hand Rover," she requested as she grabbed one hand anyway. She put the papers in her mouth and put pressure on the top of the crutches with her arms as she scribbled something down on Adam's palm then returned him his hand and pen. She took the papers out of her mouth then informed him the number was the one at her new home. "Call me tonight or I'll call you guys. You two haven't changed your phone numbers since fifth grade, have you?"

"Nope," replied Grace while Adam merely shook his head.

"Great. I'll see you guys later. It was nice meeting you, Joan."

"Same."

Sam flashed the three a smile then started to crutch down the hall away from them. Joan, Adam, and Grace watched her walk away until she turned another corner again and was out of sight. They still stared at the shadow of Sam in silence, all three stunned about what just happened. Joan took it upon herself to break the silence.

"You guys have never mentioned a Sam or Sully before."

"You never asked," said Grace snidely.

"That's because I wouldn't have known to ask," Joan replied, her irritation evident in her tone.

"You know the saying, Out of sight, out of mind?'" Grace asked, her tone less sharp. To Joan's nod, she continued, "Well, that's kind of sentiment here."

"Ouch, harsh much?"

"Don't get me wrong, as great as it is to see her again, five years without so much as a single letter does entitle me to be a little bitter about her reappearance."

"Maybe she had good reasons," Joan tried to rationalize, for reasons she couldn't comprehend.

"Maybe, but that doesn't change how I feel." Grace was silent for a moment, and Joan could tell by Grace's body language that she was a little tense. "You know, suddenly I'm not in the mood for hanging out. I'm just going to head home. I'll talk to guys later."

And before Joan or Adam could say anything, Grace stalked down the deserted hallway. Joan's eyebrows furrowed in confusion at Grace's haste exit.

"What was that all about?" Joan asked Adam, voicing her concern.

She turned to face Adam to see he was still looking at the direction Grace had disappeared into and noticed the frown that marred his face. Slowly, Adam's gazed moved to look Joan in the eye.

"Besides you, Sully's the only female friend Grace has ever had. When she moved and barely wrote to either of us, Grace took it kind of hard."

"Oh."

"I know that Grace is excited that Sully's back in town, but a part of her is still resentful that she didn't keep in touch with us. Don't worry about Grace, she'll be fine."

"If you say so."

Joan watched as Adam's serious expression faded away into a soft grin.

"What do you say we go get that ice cream you were promising me in Chem class?"

"That is a great idea," Joan replied, grinning back at him.

Adam clasped Joan's hand once again and then two began to walk toward the nearest exit of the school in a comfortable silence, both thinking about the newly arrival of this blast from the past.

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To be continued sometime in the foreseeable future- hopefully. So, what did you think? Love it, hate it, indifference? Comments, questions, suggestion? Did I completely destroy the Joan of Arcadia you know and love? Please tell me in either a review or an email ) because otherwise I'll have no hope for this fanfic and give up on it. Okay, that's a lie - I'll probably forever struggle with this fanfic until it sucks the life out of me like all my other fanfics I'm stuck on- but it will probably speed up the likelihood of me updating.


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